Replaceable blade and shank for hockey stick and a hockey stick made therewith

ABSTRACT

A replaceable blade and shank for a hockey stick is made of a thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material and has a socket into which an end of the shaft of a broken hockey stick can be inserted after the material has been heated to render it pliable, a secure fit between the shank and shaft resulting upon cooling of the material to a rigid condition.

O llnlted States Patent 1151 3,638,942 Bassett 4 1 Feb. 1, 1972 [54]REPLACEABLE BLADE AND SHANK 3,081,087 3/1963 Redd ..273/80.2 X FORHOCKEY STICK AND A HOCKEY 3,233,905 2/1966 Flom ..273/80 X STICK MADETHEREWITH 3,353,826 11/1967 Traverse ..273/67 A [72] Inventor: Frank W.Bassett, St. Catharines, Ontario, FORElGN PAT 0R APPLICATI NS Canada705,274 3/1965 Canada ..273/67 A [73] Assignee: Cooper of CanadaLimited, Toronto, On- 1,078,560 8/1967 Great Britain .,l56/86 tario,Canada 386,124 l/l933 Great Britain ..273/80.4 [22] Filed: Nov. 17, 1969253,977 11/1948 Sw1tzer|and ..273/67 A 2 App]. 77 3 7 OTHER PUBLICATIONSModern Plastics; Feb. 1953; page 106 [52] US. Cl. .l ....273/67 A 15 1 11m. (:1. ..A63b 59/14 Pnmary Examiner-Inward Pmkham 1581 Field 61 Search.....273/67, 67 A, 77 R, 80 R, 80.1-80.8, Ass/slam ExaminerRicha rd p y273/167, 82, D16. 2, DIG. 4, D10. 5, DIG. 6, DlG. AlwrneyMaybee & Legrls1 [57] ABSTRACT [56] References cued A replaceable blade and shank for ahockey stick is made of a UNITED STATES PATENTS thermoplastic syntheticpolymeric material and has a socket into which an end of the shaft of abroken hockey stick can be 2,774,993 l2/1956 Hagen e1 264/DIG 71inserted after the material has been heated to render it pliable,2,314,835 12/1957 Faullfnef 273/82 B X a secure fit between the shankand shaft resulting upon cool- 2,992,457 7/1961 Harrison ..l56/86 X ingf the material to a rigid condition 3,329,430 7/1967 Wanders..... 273/82R 3,437,788 4/1969 Lingley ..264/230 X 10 Claims, 6 Drawing FiguresTHERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL 8.9. POLYETHYLENE PATEN'IEUFEB I I N VEN TOR. nmfiisss r//////ll4llm THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL 8.9. POLYETHYL ENELONGITUDINAL RIBS TO SECURE HANDLE REPLACEABLE BLADE AND SHANK FORHOCKEY STICK AND A HOCKEY STICK MADE THEREWITH The invention relates toreplaceable blades'and shanks for hockey sticks, to hockey sticksthemselves, and to methods for making the same.

Both road hockey and ice hockey are popular sports in 'North America,particularly in Canada, and elsewhere. As a consequence, there is asubstantial market for hockey sticks, and these have been fabricated foryears from wood, notwithstanding the fact that the blades of woodenhockey sticks break quite frequently and, particularly when used forroad hockey, splinter easily, thus becoming dangerous to handle and use.Consequently, from time to time it is necessary for a hockey player toobtain a new hockey stick either on account of breakage or attrition ofhis previous hockey stick.

In accordance with this invention, there is provided a replaceable bladeand shank for a hockey stick that makes it unnecessary for the player toacquire a complete new hockey stick. Indeed, only the broken or wornblade of his previous hockey stick is discarded, the shaft of the stickstill being useful, as will become more apparent hereinafter.

A replaceable blade and shank embodying this invention is made of athermoplastic synthetic polymeric material which can be rendered pliableby heating so that it can be readily secured to the shaft withoutadhesive or fastening devices. By proper choice of the material, it ispossible to obtain a blade that resists chipping and splintering to amuch greater extent that a wooden blade and is considerably more impactresistant and hence less susceptible to breakage than a wooden blade.

This invention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription, taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a replaceable blade and shank accordingto this invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along line 2thereof;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the replaceable blade and shank shown in FIG. 1also showing a hockey stick secured to the shank;

F IG. 4 and 5 are sections taken along lines 4-4 and 5-5 in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a top elevation of the shank portion of the blade an shankshown in FIG. 1.

As shown in the drawings, a unitary structure 10 is provided consistingof a shank portion 11 and blade portion 12.

Blade portion 12 is conventional in design and has a toe l3 and a heel14. Blade 12 has two flat sides 15 and 16 extending between an upperedge 17 and a lower edge 18. Flat sides 15 and 16 may incline towardseach other in a direction away from bottom edge 18 and towards top edge17 as shown best in FIGS. 4 and 5. lllustratively bottom edge 18 may be5/16 inch wide at the position denoted by line 5-5 in FIG. 3, while topedge 17 may be 3/16 inch wide at the same point. Because sides 15 and 16may taper outwardly from toe 13 to heel 14, as is evident from acomparison of FIGS. 4 and 5, bottom edge 18 may be ,5 inch wide atposition 4-4 in FIG. 3, while top edge 17 may be inch wide at thisposition. The front edge 19 of blade 12 is inclined rearwardly at anangle of 80 to bottom edge 18. It will be appreciated, however, that thedesign of blade portion 12 may vary widely and is not a criticalfeature.

Shank portion 11 extends away from blade 12 at heel 14 thereof at anobtuse angle to the blade. Thus, the angle between the longitudinal axisof shank portion 11 and bottom edge 18 may be 225, but this isillustrative only and not a critical feature of a replaceable blade andshank embodying my invention.

Shank portion 11 consists of three parts, a part 20 that is immediatelyadjacent blade 12, a part 21 that is remote from blade 12 and a part 22that is between parts 20 and 21. As is best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, ofthese three parts, part 20 is smallest in cross-sectional area, part 21is largest, and part 22 tapers between parts 20 and 21.

Located in part 21 of shank portion 11 is an elongated socket 23, Socket23 is open at the end 24 thereof remote located in tapered part 22 is arecess from blade 12 and is rectangular in cross section throughout itslength, being defined by inner walls 26, 26a, 27 and 27a of shankportion 11 that are substantially straight and parallel throughout theirlength. At the bottom of the socket and 27 that is of a size sufficientto make the weight of the blade and shank of this invention closelyapproximate the weight of the corresponding portions of a conventionalwooden hockey stick. In order to facilitate insertion of the handle of ahockey stick into socket 23 and retention of the handle in the socket,ribs 28 projecting from surfaces 26 and 26a and extending longitudinallyof socket 23 may be provided.

For strengthening purposes, a flange 29 extending around open end 24 ofsocket 23 may be provided, and exterior ribs 30 also may be provided onpart 21 of shank portion 1 l.

Strictly by way of example, socket 23 may be I l/16X%X4 inches, thewalls defining the socket being 5/32 inch thick.

A replaceable blade and shank embodying this invention can be moldedreadily as a unitary structure and must be fabricated of a thermoplasticsynthetic polymeric material. It is important for the material to bethermoplastic because of the manner in which a blade and shank embodyingthis invention is united to the shaft of a broken hockey stick, as willbecome more apparent hereinafter. However, the choice of a suitablematerial must also take into consideration its resistance to impactand-abrasion. Obviously a material should not be chosen that will wearaway quickly when rubbed against the asphalt surface of a road, norshould the material be one which will shatter easily under conditionsnormally encountered in a road hockey game, for example. Cost of thematerial is another factor of course. A particularly suitable materialhas been found to be linear polyethylene, preferably of relatively lowmolecular weight. Polystyrene and polypropylene also might be employedbut may be found to be less durable from the point of view of theirability to resist shattering. Other materials that might be employed butwhich are relatively expensive are a polycarbonate, a butyrate andnylon, and hence these materials are not recommended.

In order to repair a hockey stick whose blade has cracked, worn away orbroken off its shaft, the end of the shaft should be cut off square anda line marked thereon 4 inches from the cut of? end. This 4-inch lengththen should be reduced in area using suitable woodworking equipment toAXI inch at the top and 5/8XI inch at the bottom, i.e., the squared offend. Part 21 of shank portion 11 then should be heated to render thesame pliable. This may be done by rotating part 21 over a stove elementat low temperature for a minute or so. The tapered end of handle 31(FIG. 3) then should be inserted into socket 23 by hand, the tapered endof the handle being inserted to the full depth of the socket. Ifconsiderable difficulty is experienced in forcing the tapered end of thehandle into the socket, the handle should be removed and furthertapered. Part 21 of shank portion 11 then should be permitted to cool.As cooling takes place, part 21 of shank portion 11 will set rigid andgrip tightly onto the tapered end of handle 31 resulting in a tightfriction fit between shank portion 11 and handle 31. No adhesive orfastening device is required.

If desired, blade 12 may be shaped for leftor righthand shooting and maybe curved. This is achieved by rotating the blade for a short time overa stove element until it becomes pliable. Blade 12 then may be bent inthe desired shape and dipped in cold water to set the material in thedesired shape.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A replaceable blade and shank for a hockey stick; said blade andshank being constituted by a unitary structure fabricated of athermoplastic synthetic polymeric material and having a blade portionand a shank portion, said blade portion having a toe and a heel withsaid shank portion extending away from said blade portion at said heelthereof and at an obtuse angle to said blade portion; said shank portionhaving an elongated socket formed therein and open at the end of saidshank portion remote from said blade portion, said thermoplasticmaterial having the characteristic such that it is rendered pliable byheating, whereby said socket portion may be heated to pliable conditionand upon cooling of said thermoplastic material returns to a rigidcondition.

2. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1 whereinthe cross-sectional area of the part of said shank portion in which saidsocket is located is larger than the cross-sectional area of the part ofsaid shank portion immediately adjacent said blade portion.

3. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 2 whereinsaid parts of saidshank portion are joined by a tapered part of saidshank portion.

4. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1 whereinsaid socket is rectangular in cross section throughout its length and isdefined by inner walls of said shank portion that are substantiallystraight and parallel throughout their length.

5. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1 whereinsaid thermoplastic material is polyethylene.

6. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1, saidunitary structure including a flange of said material extending aroundthe open end of said socket.

7. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1 whereinsaid socket is defined by inner walls of said shank portion, said innerwalls having ribs thereon extending longitudinally of said socket andengageable with said end of said shaft.

8. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 3 whereinsaid socket is rectangular in cross section throughout its length and isdefined by inner walls of said shank portion that are substantiallystraight and parallel throughout their length, said inner .walls havingribs thereon extending longitudinally of said socket and engageable withsaid end of said shaft.

9. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 3 whereinsaid socket is rectangular in cross section throughout its length and isdefined by inner walls of said shank portion that are substantiallystraight and parallel throughout their length, said inner walls havingribs thereon extending longitudinally of said socket and engageable withsaid end of said shaft, said thermoplastic material being polyethylene.

10. In combination: a hockey stick shaft; a unitary blade and shankmember, said shank member having a socket embracing an end of saidshaft, said socket having been initially formed to a size and shape notsnugly fitting said shaft end, said socket being of a thermoplasticmaterial of such characteristics that it is rendered pliable by heatingand returns to rigid condition when cooled; said socket having beenheated to pliable condition and pressed onto said shaft end to conformsnugly thereto then cooled to rigid condition whereby said socket snuglyand securely embraces said shaft end.

1. A replaceable blade and shank for a hockey stick; said blade and shank being constituted by a unitary structure fabricated of a thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material and having a blade portion and a shank portion, said blade portion having a toe and a heel with said shank portion extending away from said blade portion at said heel thereof and at an obtuse angle to said blade portion; said shank portion having an elongated socket formed therein and open at the end of said shank portion remote from said blade portion, said thermoplastic material having the characteristic such that it is rendered pliable by heating, whereby said socket portion may be heated to pliable condition and upon cooling of said thermoplastic material returns to a rigid condition.
 2. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1 wherein the cross-sectional area of the part of said shank portion in which said socket is located is larger than the cross-sectional area of the part of said shank portion immediately adjacent said blade portion.
 3. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 2 wherein said parts of said shank portion are joined by a tapered part of said shank portion.
 4. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1 wherein said socket is rectangular in cross section throughout its length and is defined by inner walls of said shank portion that are substantially straight and parallel throughout their length.
 5. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1 wherein said thermoplastic material is polyethylene.
 6. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1, said unitary structure including a flange of said material extending around the open end of said socket.
 7. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1 wherein said socket is defined by inner walls of said shank portion, said inner walls having ribs thereon extending longitudinally of said socket and engageable with said end of said shaft.
 8. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 3 wherein said socket is rectangular in cross section throughout its length and is defined by inner walls of said shank portion that are substantially straight and parallel throughout their length, said inner walls having ribs thereon extending longitudinally of said socket and engageable with said end of said shaft.
 9. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 3 wherein said socket is rectangular in cross section throughout its length and is defined by inner walls of said shank portion that are substantially straight and parallel throughout their length, said inner walls having ribs thereon extending longitudinally of said socket and engageable with said end of said shafT, said thermoplastic material being polyethylene.
 10. In combination: a hockey stick shaft; a unitary blade and shank member, said shank member having a socket embracing an end of said shaft, said socket having been initially formed to a size and shape not snugly fitting said shaft end, said socket being of a thermoplastic material of such characteristics that it is rendered pliable by heating and returns to rigid condition when cooled; said socket having been heated to pliable condition and pressed onto said shaft end to conform snugly thereto then cooled to rigid condition whereby said socket snugly and securely embraces said shaft end. 